Saturday, September 29, 2012

After having little trouble in their opening three games of the 2012-2013 campaign, the Edmonton Oil Kings finally met their match, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night at Rexall Place. Brooks Macek led the way upfront with a pair of assists, while goaltender Chris Driedger stopped thirty-four of the thirty-five shots fired his way, improving Calgary's record to a perfect 3-0 and pushing them past the Oil Kings into first place in the WHL's Central Division.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Edmonton Oil Kings continued their early season domination of the Western Hockey League, improving to 3-0 on their campaign, with a 3-0 road victory against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Netminder Ty Rimmer was outstanding in the losing effort, stopping 57 of the 60 Oil King shots fired his way. Forwards Curtis Lazar and Henrik Samuelsson scored for the second consecutive game and backup netminder Tristan Jarry made twenty saves, picking up his first WHL shutout, in his first start of the season.

Once the owners and NHLPA finally decide to come to their senses and put an end to the NHL lockout, Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ryan Whitney will be headed down a path of uncharted territory. As he enters the final year of his 6yr/$24 million deal, which he signed as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the now twenty-nine year old blueliner will be looking at becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NHL career. With that being the case, one has to wonder if oft-injured defenceamn would be in the Oilers plans moving forward or if Whitney himself, would have any interest in returning to Edmonton for another kick at the can.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

So it has come to this, has it. After exchanging verbal jabs during another week of what has become a never ending headache known as the proposed Downtown Arena, City of Edmonton officials and the Edmonton Oilers hockey club have decided to take the gloves off. With Mayor Stephan Mandel coming out with a deadline date of October 17th, for the Katz Group to let the city know exactly what they are looking for in the new arena deal, the following statement was released from Katz Group vice-president Bob Black, on Monday evening.

Monday, September 24, 2012

For the Edmonton Oilers to challenge for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, if and when the 2012-2013 season actually gets underway, they will need to stay healthy and get consistent production out of their group of talented young players. However, no player will be under more scrutiny than netminder Devan Dubnyk. After signing a rather hefty two year extension, the time has come for Dubnyk to start producing on a consistent basis or he can kiss his dream of becoming a NHL starting goalie good-bye.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

After taking the Kottenay Ice in their season opener with more of a team effort, it was the Edmonton Oil Kings big boys who did the damage against the Red Deer Rebels on Sunday afternoon. Centre Curtis Lazar led the way with a hat trick and Michael St. Croix added two more goals, pushing the Oil Kings to an easy 6-2 victory over their provincial rivals.